Luis, the custodian of Villaverde's Vietnam: the secret is in the bravas sauce

In Sancris, which is what San Cristóbal is called, it is inevitable.

It doesn't matter that we are in the only neighborhood in Madrid without parking spaces and without traffic lights.

It doesn't matter that we are dealing with some of the best patatas bravas on the forum.

In Sancris, sooner or later, his name appears.

, Raúl, grew up in these streets, "and he came from time to time, although now he hasn't been for many years."

And then the conversation turns to the

, who was his (Raúl's) friend, and Luis Morante, the cat in this story, the owner of the bar, because we are in a bar.

Javi, Alex's friend, didn't know him (Raúl), but he agrees.

And apparently, Juanan is missing here, a friend of Alex and Javi, but who was Raúl's closest friend... In short, a mess.

"Well, he was more of a friend of the greengrocer's son!" Closes Luis, the protagonist, who is, of these lines.

Luis is

, he is 57 years old and has been behind the

, in Villaverde, which has been open since

, and since that day has not seen any reform.

From the outside, with the worn letters -"Gran freiduría"-, and from the inside, with the iron -"where you can look at yourself as if it were a mirror", says a client-, with the cash register, dying, with the sign of Pepsi -who drinks Pepsi in 2022?-, with the terrazzo on the floor, with the aluminum of the bar... A

bar , although

must already be around the year 2150.

"We haven't done any renovations, among other things because you can't find this aluminum, this battery, these materials, and they're clean and well cared for as they are..." says Luis, who is shy, very shy, but hardly little by little it loosens.

For example, why is the bar called Vietnam?

he says.

It's that simple.

And it was not he who opened it.

It was opened by Alicia's uncles, his wife, who were called Antoliano and Domiciano, and whom everyone in the neighborhood knew as Antonio, that's it, and Fernando, whose relationship with Domitiano is... But it turns out that Domitian changed his name and was renamed Ferdinand.

Or Nano.

Well, it doesn't matter.

Total, they opened it and began to make his bravas famous.

They went to Ávila every week for the potatoes, although times have changed and now Luis waits for them to be brought to the bar.

Of the Monalisa variety, if possible, a potato with very little water and, therefore, retains very little oil.

"We peel them, cut them and put them in the fryer," says Luis, who does not elaborate on the perfectly regular cut of all of them, in the exact reddish tone with which they come out, and much less clearly, he expands on the secret.

Because once fried,

, whose recipe was Antonio's and now is Luis and Alicia's.

And they do not release garment.

Whoever wants to try to find out, he will have to try them.

Luis Morante throws a cane behind the counter of the Vietnam bar.BERNARDO DIAZ

FROM THE FIRST TIME

The bravas are the star tapas of Vietnam, where they also offer Moorish skewers, anchovies, squid and zarajos, those lamb guts that barely survive in the real traditional bars.

Luis, a Real Madrid fan, with white hair and light blue eyes, shy, it should be emphasized, has seen behind that bar how

has changed , a working-class neighborhood in the 70s, with houses for Renfe workers, Marconi, even the Police, to later be a handful of streets plagued by drugs in the 80s, and one of the areas with the most immigration today.

One last detail before ordering the last bottle with the latest bravas.

The tables and chairs are literally bolted to the floor.

Cast?

laughs Luis, who hangs out here from nine in the morning until midnight, and is only closed on Wednesdays.

The bravas, by the way, are from the first hour.

PS Just as Raúl used to go from time to time, today another kid from the Madrid academy, who goes to star, also passes by, since he lives in the doorway next door.

His name is

and

has already made him debut with the first team.

, what do they say there.

DNA

- Born in Madrid, he is 57 years old and has spent 35 behind the bar at the Vietnam bar.

- Madridista,

, raised in these streets.

- It's impossible to be more shy.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

• villaverde

• Articles Eduardo J. Castelao